ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has stopped his ministers and aides from giving anti-India statements as the two nations move towards peace, official sources said yesterday.
The two nuclear armed neighbours had been at loggerheads until recently amid a war of words and crossfire along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary.
But an interaction between Prime Ministers Sharif and Narendra Modi in Paris and subsequent meeting of the National Security Advisors in Bangkok set the pace for improvement in the bilateral ties. This month, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Pakistan to attend the ‘Heart of Asia conference.’ She also met Prime Minister Sharif and his Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on the sidelines.
This was the first significant engagement between the two nuclear-armed nations since Prime Ministers Sharif met Narendra Modi met in Ufa, Russia in July and also the first visit by an Indian external affairs minister to Pakistan in more than three years.
It is expected that Sharif and Modi will meet again in Switzerland next month. The two leaders will be together to attend the 46th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos-Klosters. The three-day meeting will commence on January 20. The officials said Prime Minister Sharif had accepted the invitation to attend the forum while New Delhi had also consented to participation by Prime Minister Modi.
Last day, India's outgoing High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr TCA Raghavan said the relations between the two countries were heading towards betterment. Speaking at a farewell dinner, he said schedule for meeting of the foreign secretaries of the two countries was being worked out.
Raghavan said the improvement in the India-Pakistan ties will greatly help overcome the problems being confronted by the region. He said the two countries need to reduce their tension for the sake of their respective people.
A close aide of Prime Minister Sharif said the ministers and senior officials had been stopped from issuing statements which could damage the peace process. “There will be statements only that encourage the dialogue process rather than digging out the past. The PM has asked the close aides and cabinet members to promote peace,” he told The Nation. He said the Prime Minister was optimistic about better ties with India which would benefit the whole region.
“He is annoyed by some statements from India that New Delhi only wanted to discuss Azad Kashmir in talks but understands this is not their government’s policy,” he added.
Prime Minister Sharif, the source said, wanted to give top priority to Kashmir, terrorism and trade when the two sides sit on the table to discuss peace.
Another official said the Prime Minister and the military leadership were on the same page to make peace with India. “There is no difference of opinion and both agree that there should be no compromise on the stated position on key issues,” he added.
Analysts say it was a positive development that Pakistan and India agreed to resume comprehensive dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues.
Senator Lt. General Abdul Qayyum Khan (retd) said it was the policy of PM Nawaz Sharif to resolve the issues through dialogue because war was not the solution to any problem. He said India had been pressurised for resuming comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan. “India was pressurised because its own celebrities have returned their awards to the government as a protest for violating minority’s rights,” he maintained.
International affairs expert Dr Huma Baqai said India agreed to resume the comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan to resolve all the outstanding issues including Kashmir dispute which was positive gesture.
“A positive change has been observed in foreign policy of Pakistan as a result of which bilateral relations of Pakistan have been improving with other countries. For the last few years Indian reputation has been affected in the world because of Modi’s policies and Indian government is also aware of this fact,” she maintained.
She added, “Now, the Indian government has been taking certain protective measure to improve its image once again in front of the world. Let us see how India could manage to improve its image.”
Chairperson Senate Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs Nuzhat Sadiq said the only solution to any problem was dialogue.
“Pakistan has always supported peace and prosperity in the region. All the countries should support Pakistan in this regard. Peace in the region will definitely result in economic development,” she said.